Masking tape applicator



Nov. 3, 1970 G. J. KEFALOS MASKING TAPE APPLICATOR 2. Sheets-Sheet 1Filed Jan. '17, 1969 T INVENTOR.

GEORGE J. KEFALOS BY Jamal 7 ATTORNEYS FIG.2

Nov. 3, 1970 G. J. KEFALOS MASKING TAPE APPLICATOR 2 Sheets-Sheet 2Filed Jah. 17, 1969 lNVEN TOR. GEORGE J. KEFALOS BY V fmmvwvzrea/ FIG.6

ATTORNEYS United States Patent O 3,537,942 MASKING TAPE APPLICATORGeorge J. Kefalos, 645 E. Huston St., Barberton, Ohio 44203Continuation-impart of application Ser. No. 631,324,

Apr. 17, 1967. This application Jan. 17, 1969, Ser.

Int. Cl. B32b 31/10 U.S. Cl. 156-577 3 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSUREA masking tape applicator wherein variable widths of masking tape areprovided in association with a relatively small diameter applicator rollwith the structure being arranged so that one axial end of theapplicator roll and the tape roll are aligned in coplanar relationship.

By this arrangement the edge of the applied tape is in alignment withthe applicator roller so that the masking tape can be applied along anedge surface such as a molding strip. Pivotal mounting of the tape rolland the use of spacers with respect to the mounting arm are furtherimprovements of the invention.

RELATED APPLICATIONS This application is a continuation-in-part ofapplicants earlier application, entitled Masking Tape Applicator, filedApr. 17, 1967 as Ser. No. 631,324, now abandoned.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Field of the invention It has long been feltdesirable to have some means of transferring masking tape from the usualroll onto the surface that is being masked 01f for painting purposes.Applications where such a use is desirable are situations where themasking tape is applied between wall and ceiling, between floor and walland other areas where masking ofi is desired.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PRIOR ART The following patents are believedrepresentative of the earlier prior art: U.S. 2,500,157, F. A. Deutsch;US 2,732,964, C. A. Neer; U.S. 3,125,263, M. E. Harbour; U.S. 3,140,217,M. -E. Harbour.

It will be noted that the prior art above listed in every event showsportions of the applicator disposed outboard of the axial end surfacesof the tape rod so as to prevent close access to a juncture point inview of interference that would be caused by the support structure forthe applicator. It will be also noted that the prior art aboveidentified fails to make provision for varying diameter rolls beinglocated in the same edge applying relationship and further fails to makeprovision for pivotally associating the axis of the roll and applicatorwith respect to eachother so as to apply continuous pressurenotwithstanding the amount of masking tape remaining on the roll.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Applicant has first discovered that byassociating the edges of the applicator roll and tape in coplanarrelationship with each other and by further permitting these surfaces tobe applied fiat against a wall for example that masking of a shoe moldor other structure can be readily accomplished by merely placing theroller against the point of juncture between wall and mold and thendispensing the tape by moving the applicator along the line of juncture.Similarly, this same concept can be used for masking the point ofjuncture between a wall and ceiling and in this instance if the ceilingwere to be masked the edges of the tape and roller would merely beplaced parallel to the ceiling so as to provide the tape at the exactpoint of juncture between the ceiling and the wall.

Applicant has further discovered that the use of spacer means permitsvarying widths of tape to be used with a common applicator roll.

Finally, applicant has found that if a pivotal relationship is presentedbetween the axis of the tape roll and the applicator roll that then andin that event that uniform application pressure will be applied by theroll notwithstanding the amount of tape remaining thereon.

Production of an improved tape applicator having the above describedadvantages accordingly becomes the principal object of this invention,with other objects thereof becoming more apparent upon a reading of thefollowing brief specification considered and interpreted in view of theaccompanying drawings.

In the drawings:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the improved tape applicator showingtape being applied to a floor molding strip.

FIG. 2 is a vertical sectional view taken on the lines 22 of FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is a side elevational view showing the tape being dispensed.

FIG. 4 is a partial sectional view similar to FIG. 2 showing the use ofthe spacers on the improved tape applicator.

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of a modified form of the improved tapeapplicator showing tape being applied to a chrome strip on anautomobile.

FIG. 6 is a sectional view of the applicator roll taken along the lines6-6 of FIG. 5.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT Referring now to the drawingsand in particular to FIG. 1, the improved tape applicator, generallydesignated by the numeral 10 includes an elongate arm member 20 having ahandle portion 21 and a projecting end portion 22 with the arrangementbeing such that the handle portion 21 is employed to grip the applicatorwhile the end portion 22 is adapted to support certain roller componentsas will now be described.

In this regard and referring first to FIG. 2, it will be noted that anapplicator roll 25 is shown rotatably supported as by bolt 26 which isthreaded into an appropriate aperture near the projecting end 22 of thearm 20 with the roller 25 being provided with a bore 27 within which thebolt head 26a can be recessed as is clearly shown in FIG. 2 of thedrawings.

Referring next then to FIGS. 1 and 2, it will be seen that a strap-likesupport arm 30 has one end pivotally secured to the arm 20 by bolt 31 ata point between the handle 21 and the point of support for applicatorroll 25.

The opposed end of the arm 30 is also appropriately bored to receivebolt 32 which is retained in place by use of nut 33. In this regard, arm30 is countersunk as at 30a and bolt 32 is complementally contoured sothat the surface of arm 30 is uninterrupted when bolt 32 and nut 33 areassembled.

A tape support roll 40 is also provided with a central aperture and thebolt 32 is passed through this aperture and then the roll 40 is mountedon the outboard end of the arm 30 and secured in place by nut 33.

Since it is desired that the unit be adapted to accommodate variouswidths of tape rolls 50 the support roll 40 has a peripheral surface 41that generally has an axial width that is in excess of the normal forusual tape rolls.

Roll 40 also has a peripheral shoulder or flange 42 on its inboard edge(See FIGS. 2 and 4). Thus when using narrower tape one or more spacers34 would be used as shown in FIG. 4, while if a wider tape was desiredit would be merely necessary to remove the spacer to accommodate thewider tape with spacer 34 slipping over roll 40 and abutting shoulder42.

In all events, use of the spacers 34 permits the tape roll 50 to belocated in such a fashion that it is completely supported by the supportroll 40 but yet has its axial edge 50a maintained in coplanarrelationship with the axial edge 25a of applicator roll 25 as shown inFIG. 2. Furthermore, the edges 50a and 25a lie in a plane whichrepresents the extreme outer limit of the applicator so that the tapemay be applied with its edge flush with a wall surface for example.

In use or operation of the improved tape applicator the operator merelyinserts a standard roll of tape into the tape support roll 40 and by useof a ruler or other straight edge insures that the edge surfaces 50a and2501 are in coplanar relationship with each other. At this time theleading edge of the tape T may be pulled back off of the roll 50 andapplied with its ungummed side extending for wardly and in contact withthe applicator roll 25 so that the gummed or sticky side will be exposedfor application purposes as shown in FIG. 1. At this time, the edge ofthe tape T will be in alignment with the face 25a of roll 25 and asshown in FIG. 2 the entire unit can then be placed flush against thewall W with the gummed portion of the tape resting on the top edge ofthe molding C while the faces 50a and 25a abut the wall W as clearlyshown in FIGS. 1 and 2.

At this time simple forward movement of the handle while retaining theabove mentioned relationship will result in the tape being quickly andaccurately applied with the edge portion thereof coming immediately intocontact with the point of juncture I (FIG. 1) that exists betweenmolding and wall as clearly shown in FIG. 1.

Of course, if the molding C were of a different width or if for anyreason a different width tape were required or available, the edgesurfaces 50a and 25a could be maintained in a common plane by simplyusing the one or more spacers 34.

In using the applicator, it will also be noted that due to the fact thatall of the mounting members such as the nut 32, and arm 30* for exampleare on the inboard side of the applicator, that the tape may be runflush with the wall W without encountering any obstructions.

It will be further noted that as tape is dispensed from the roll, theouter diameter of the roll 50* will of course diminish. However, due tothe fact that this roll is supported pivotally by means of arm 30 to thehandle 20, this diminishment of size will not affect the operation ofthe applicator. The applicator roll will retain its relative spacing tothe tape no matter what the diameter of the roll of the tape is, sincethe application pressure itself on the tape will pull the roll of tapeand its entire mounting assembly into adjacency with the applicator rolland will maintain it in that position.

Also due to the fact that nut 33 is countersunk in arm 30, the arm canbe pivoted 180 degrees from the position of FIG. 1 without interferencewith handle 20 and can therefore be adapted for use by a left-handedperson as well.

Turning next then to FIGS. 5 and 6 in which a modifield form of theinvention is shown, it will be seen that a handle 120 with a grippingend 121' and an opposed end 122 is provided. The tape carrying roll 140is mounted on this handle in the same fashion as the roll 40' is mountedon handle 20' as shown in FIGS. 1 and 3.

The applicator roll 125 is similarin construction to the applicator roll25 except that on its outboard end it has a radially extending flange125a with this flange being adapted to ride along the edge of the stripbeing taped.

In this regard, when masking a chrome strip S for example, the flange arides in the narrow gap between the strip S and vehicle A as shown inFIG. 6 This insures complete coverage of the strip S. This form of theinvention has particular utility in use on vehicle bodies but, ofcourse, would be usable in any situation in which the piece to be tapedis spaced from its supporting member.

Operation of the device is similar to that of the device shown in FIGS.1 through 4 except for the fact that the flange 125a does move along theedge of the strip S.

It will be seen from the foregoing how there has been provided a new andimproved type of masking tape applicator that is characterized by thefact that the support members are provided exclusively on one side sothat the edges. of the tape can be directly applied in exact parallelwith the wall surface. It will further be shown how the use of spacerelements adapts this unit to be used with varying widths of tapedepending upon the job requirement involved.

Finally, it has been shown how the pivotal supporting of the tape rollconstantly insures that pressure will be applied through the applicatorroll regardless of the amount of tape remaining on the supply roll, withthe axis of rotation of the supply roll and applicator roll beingparallel even though a pivotal relationship exists therebetween.

What is claimed is:

1. A masking tape applicator of the character described, comprising:

(A) an elongate handle;

(B) an applicator roll;

(1) mounted on one side of said handle when viewed in plan with theaxial edges thereof lying in a plane parallel to the longitudinal axisof said handle and being rotatably supported about an axis that isperpendicular to the longitudinal axis of said handle;

(C) a tape roll (1) mounted on the same side of said handle as saidapplicator roll when viewed in plan and being rotatably supported aboutan axis that is perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of said handleand parallel to the axis of rotation of said applicator roll;

(D) means for rotating the projecting axial end surfaces of saidapplicator roll and said tape roll in a common plane that defines anextreme edge of said applicator when viewed in plan; and

(E) an elongate mounting arm (1) having one end pivotally connected tosaid handle at a point spaced inwardly from the mounting point of saidapplicator roll (2) with the opposed end thereof supporting said taperoll about its axis of rotation (3) and with said arm being pivotableabout is point of support at least degrees.

2. The device of claim 1 further characterized by the fact that saidmeans for rotating the axial ends of said tape roll and said applicatorroll in a common plane include a support roll carried by said mountingarm and spacer elements on said support roll adapted to vary the axiallocation of said tape roll from said mounting arm.

3. A tape applicator of the character described, comprising:

(A) an elongate handle;

(B) an applicator roll (1) rotatably mounted on one side of said handlewhen viewed in plan with the axial edges thereof lying in a planeparallel to the longitudinal axis of said handle;

(C) a support arm (1) having one end freely pivotally mounted on thesame side of said handle as said applicator roll at a point spacedinwardly from the mounting point of said applicator roll being pivotableabout its point of support at least 180 degrees. (D) a tape support roll(1) rotatably mounted on the opposed end of said support arm (2) on thesame side of said handle as said applicator r011; (E) a tape roll (1)mounted on said tape support roll for rotation in unison therewith; and(F) said applicator roll having a radially extending flange on itsoutboard edge projecting axially beyond the outboard edge of said tapesupport roll.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS Coe 156577 Coe 156577 Gibson156-577 Hetes 156577 BENJAMIN A. BORCHELT, Primary Examiner 10 s. c.BENTLEY, Assistant Examiner

